I remember / je me souviens

I remember / je me souviens

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For those limbic bursts of nostalgia, invented by Proust, miniaturized by Nicholson Baker, and freeze-dried by Joe Brainard in his I remember and by Georges Perec in his Je me souviens.

But there are no fractions, the world is an integer
Like us, and like us it can neither stand wholly apart nor disappear.
When one is young it seems like a very strange and safe place,
But now that I have changed it feels merely odd, cold
And full of interest.
--John Ashbery, "A Wave"

Sometimes I sense that to put real confidence in my memory I have to get to the end of all rememberings. That seems to say that I forego remembering. And now that strikes me as an accurate description of what it is to have confidence in one's memory.
--Stanley Cavell, The Claim of Reason

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

I remember when dial tone first pay phones came in. "This is a dial tone first pay phone. DO not deposit any money until you hear a dial tone." Now that's standard, but then you picked up a dead phone, deposited your dime, and waited for the dial tone.

I remember as well losing a dime in a phone. This was at the subway station at 242nd Street. The phone didn't make the connection and didn't return my money. I was in high school, and it was my last dime, maybe my last money (although I had a token to get home with). I called the Operator to complain, assuming that she would make the call for me. But all she would offer was to take my name and address to get the dime refunded. She wouldn't put me through under any circumstances. I was frustrated beyond belief.

posted by william 3:22 PM
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